There is increasing talk about the need for pension reform.
"There is no need for a new total global reform of the pension system. We have a consensus that we should have a 3-pillar pension system - solidarity by the National Social Security Institute, capital-based mandatory and capital-based voluntary. Our pension system needs to plug the leaks and waste," said the chairman of the general meeting of the Bulgarian Pensioners' Association Vasil Velev on "Denyat ON AIR".
936,000 pensioners are on a minimum pension
According to Velev, there is a need for a correction, not a new system.
"As a result of the artificially increased minimum pension amount, we have 936,000 pensioners receiving a minimum pension. By buying voters wholesale, politicians have illegally raised pensions - paying for the pensions of the lazy and unqualified with the money of the hardworking. Disability pensions are the other big problem. Last year, 41% of the new pensions granted were disability pensions, Velev added for Bulgaria ON AIR.
The problem with fake sick leave
According to the guest, every second person is on a minimum pension.
"Every third sick leave is fake. We have 100 workers in the real sector who support 120 pensioners and those employed in the budget sector. This ratio should be 100/40. The recipe is to tighten the conditions for retirement and increase the number of people working in the economy," he explained.
The TELK should be closed - it only exists in Bulgaria, all the others have made reforms, Velev called.
"There are also pensioners with TELK in the Ministry of Interior who continue to work. There are many with TELK in healthcare. Social benefits are paid by the National Social Security Institute, and this is not the job of the pension system, but of social assistance," the chairman of the general meeting of the Bulgarian Association of Bankers and Insurance Companies said.